Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-12-29

4 s..
NAV as we'll avail ourselves of it, such as it
| is. During the last six months several
| Frontier Commissions have been at work
| on the various boundaries of Zu-Vendis,
| with a view of discovering whether there
| exists any possible means of ingreSS or
egress from the country, with the result
| that channel of communication with the
outer world hitherto overlooked has been
| discovered This channel apparently the
| only one for / have discovered that it was
| by it that the native who ultimately reach
| ed Mr.. Mackenzie's mission station, and
whose arrival in the country, togooscner Win
| the fact of his expulsion, for he did arrive
| about three years before ourselves was
| for reasons of their own kept dead secret
| by the priests to whom he was hrought), is
| about to be effectually closed ut before
| tilis is done messenger IS 10 Spatcned
| bearing with him this manuscript, and
also one or two letters from Coed to his
friends, and from myself to my brother
George, whom it deeply grieves me to think
| l shall never see again, informing them, as
/ our next heirs, that they are welcome to
our effects in England, if the Court of Pro
bate will allow them to take them, inas-
much as we have made up our minds never
| to return to Europe. Indeed, it would be
| impossible for us to leave Zu-Vendis even
if we wished to do so.
The messenger who is to go, and wish
him JOY of his journey, is Alphonse. For
of Zu-Vendis and its inhabitants. "Oh, oui,
c'est beau,' he says, with an expressive
| shrug; "mais je m'ennuie; &c nest pas
chic" Again he complains dreadfully of
the absence Of CAFES and theatres, and
means continually Tor as fosG annette, OF
| whom he says he dreams three times
| week But [ fancy his secret cause OF dis
gust at the country, putting aside the
| homesickneSs to which every Frenchman
is subject, is that the people here laugh at
= II FILL I,nJ, III ,1afn
occasion of the great battle of the Pass
about eighteen months ago. when he hid
| beneath a banner in SoraiS' tent in order
to avoid being sent forth to fight, which
he says would have gone against his con-
science. Even the little boys call out at
him in the streets, thereby offending his
pride, and making his life unbearahle At
any rate, he has determined TO brave the
| horrors Of a journey of almost unprece-
denied difficulty and danger, and also to
run the risk Of falling into the hands of
the French police to answer for a certain
little ind;scretion OF Ills own some years
old {th0ugh do not consider that q very
serious matter), rather than remain in &C
triste pays. Poor Alphonse! we shall be
very sorry to part with him; but | sincere
ly trust, for his own sake and also for the
sake OF this history, which is, [ think,
worth giving the world, that he may ar
rive in safety. If he does, and can carry
the treasure we have provided him with in
G15 SHAPE VI DdIS VI SO1Itl SOlO, 1S WILL Ucy
comparatively speaking, a rich man for
life, and we'll able to marry his Annette,
if she is still in the land OF the living and
willing lo marry her Alphonse.
Any how, on the chance, may as well
add q word or two to dear old Quarter
mains narrative.
). He died at dawn on the day following
that on which he wrote the last words of
the last chapter. Nyleptha, Good and my
| self were present and q most touching and
| mi re- hoo fT1I n
hour before the daybreak it became appar-
), ent to us that he was sinking, and our dis
tress was very keen. Indeed. Good melted
into tears at the idea-a fact that called
forth last gentle flicker of humor from
our dying friend, for even at that hour he
could be humorous. Goods emotion had,
| by lOOSening the muscles, naturally caused
his eye-glass to fall from it's accustomed
place, and Quartermain, who always OBJ
served everything, observed this also.
cat last" he gasped, with an attempt at
a smile, II have seen Good without his
| eye-glaSS."
After that he said no more till the day
broke, when he asked to be lifted up to
watch the rising of the sun for the last time.
Sin g. very few minutes - he said, after
gazing earnestly at it, 81 shall have passed
through those golden gates"
Ten minutes afterwards he raised him.
self and looked us fixedly in the face.
81 am going q stranger journey than any
we have taken together. Think of me
sometimes he murmured 'God bless
you all shall wait for you together"
and with sigh he fell back dead.
And so passed away character that |
consider went as near perfection as any it
has ever been my lot to encounter.
Tender, constant, humorous, and pos
seSSing many of the qualities that go to
| make a poet, he was yet almost unriyaIled
as a man of action and 81 citizen of the
world. [ never knew any one so Compel
ent to form an accurate Judgment of men
and their motives. 81 have studied hui
man nature all my life," he would say,
"and [ ought to know something about
it,n and he certainly did. He had but two
faults-one was his excessive modesty, and
the other slight tendency which he had
to be jealous of anybody upon whom he
concentrated his affections. AS regards
the first of these points, anybody who reads
what he has written will be able to form
his own opinion; but will add one last in
stance of it.
AS the reader will doubtless remember,
it was favorite trick of his to talk of him.
self as timid man, whereas really, though
very cautious, he possessed most intrepid
spirit, and, what is more, never lost his
head Well, in the great battle OF the
Pass, where he got the wound that finally
| killed him, one would imagine from the
| account which he gives of the occurrence
in the Scrimmage.
AS matter of fact, however, he was
wounded in a most gallant and successful
attempt to save Goods life, at the risk, and
as it ultimately turned out, at the cost of
his own. Good was down on the ground,
and one of Nasta's Highlander5 was about
to dispatch him, when Quartermain threw
himself onto his PROSTATE form and re-
ceiyed the blow on his own body, and then
rising. killed the soldier.
Well, he died, and Good read the Burial
Service over him in the presence of Nylep-
tina and myself, and then his remains
were, in Difference to the popular clamor.
accorded a great public funeral, or rather
cremation. [ could not help thinking,
however, as I marched in that long and
splendid procession up to the Temple, how
he would have hated the whole thing could
he have been there to see it, for he had a
horror of ostentation.
And So a few minutes before sunset, on
the third night after his death, they laid
him on the brazen flooring before the altar.
ana waited for the last ray or the setting
sun to fall upon his face. Presently it
came. aud struck him like a golden arrow,
browning the pale brows with glory, and
then the trumpets blew, and the flooring
revolved, and all that remained of our be-